Fine Showtime Motorsports Ohio Debut for Ankrum and Challenging Race for Lawrence
June 28, 2022
The Showtime Motorsports Franklin Road Apparel team enjoyed mixed fortunes at Mid Ohio on Sunday with rookie driver Tyler Ankrum scoring a highly creditable P15 on his first visit to the track in the No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro. Teammate Cameron Lawrence in the No. 6 car endured the misfortune of rough contact during the race.
Round 7 of the 2022 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship season could only be described as a messy race with numerous cautions and two black flags, with the Franklin Road driver missing out on a top ten finish. Al Unser Jr. in the commentary box noted that cautions breed cautions and while Misha Goikhberg appeared to leave the door open for Cameron to pass, he slammed it shut when the former Champion made his move.
"We put a lot of work in here with TA2 this weekend and the result was a rough race," said Franklin Road supremo Ken Thwaits. "Once again Cameron and Misha had contact during the race. [The damage] starts from the left all the way to the back of the rear quarter panel. I don't get it."
"We were ninth and cruising at the halfway mark but that was it for us. We made this trip, did all the preparation and our team puts in every ounce of effort to perform on track. These events in the race are pushing the boundaries of racing incidents."
"Tyler Ankrum's goal was to learn the track because he's coming back here to race Trucks. He learned what to do and he learned what not to do. We ended up 15th after a spin so mission accomplished for him. They're happy and it'll be guns blazing when they get in their NASCAR Truck race here."
In spite of not getting a clear run in qualifying, Cameron nevertheless maintained his customary speed to put himself in P11 on the grid in a time of 1:25:516 while debutant Tyler Ankrum put the No. 4 car in P20 with a time of 1:26:375.
We also got a chance to look ahead to next weekend's action at Road America where Ken has an awesome surprise for fans. He went on, "For Road America, Paul Menard will be back! We will unveil the new black and yellow No. 5 car this week. From the TA side we're pretty stoked with what we did yesterday. Our biggest goal has been to get to Tomy Drissi and we did that. Every race is different and I don't take anything for granted but yesterday we just out ran him."
This year there is terrific television coverage of the Trans Am racing and the details are as follows:
TV BROADCAST:
TA2 - Jul 02, 7:30p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
TA2 (Encore Presentation) - Jul 03, 11:30 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
TA/XGT/SGT/GT - Jul 03, 2:00p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
TA/XGT/SGT/GT (Encore Presentation) - Jul 04, 1:00 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
Fans can find the Franklin Road Apparel Trans Am clothing here: https://www.franklinroad.com/search/trans+am/
Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports showtimemotorsports.net. Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com. #GoTransAm
Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram.
About Showtime Motorsports:
The Showtime Motorsports brand includes Ken Thwaits' racing team and racecars, and an outstanding classic Camaro collection. Showtime Motorsports brings together a dynamic staff who employ diverse talents and share a passion for cars, racing and caring for clients like they are our own family members.